Wednesday, May 21, 2014

It is important to make use of texture in linocuts, especially if it is a one colour linocut.Texture adds interest and realism.You can create texture by using different sized tools.All of my Calendar of Scottish Wildlife prints make use of texture to make the animals more life-like.In the bats example below, you can see I’ve used a small tool to create the fur; and a broader tool for the grain of the wood.

The amount of texture you add can lead to a variation of shades of colour, and this can help to differentiate between areas. Look at the ‘Sleeping Rabbits’ print below which incorporates three different shaded areas.

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1.The light hay, where only the thinnest lines have been left behind.

2.The mid tone rabbits where a thin tool has been used to create lots of short lines to give the impression of fur.

3.Finally, there is the almost solid, very dark earth, where the only texture is the occasional stone.

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Variation in texture creates different shades of the same colour in this rabbit linocut

In creating texture, it is important not to over cut and clear out too much.With my 2011 Christmas Bears card below, for example, I feel I was a bit over zealous in creating lines for the fur of Mummy Bear – I think she looks a bit bald compared to the others!

Be careful not to remove too much - poor balding Mummy Bear!

In creating a colour linocut, it is also important to add texture. It can make a single area of colour lighter or darker, helping to describe the surface area and solidity of the subject. Look at the grey section of the gannets below. The solid grey in the beaks show how strong they are. The textured grey highlights their feather and changes into a solid grey, to show the shaded areas.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

In this post, I want to show how I create a linocut which can be put together to form a repeat pattern. This kind of linocut needs to work in design terms both on it's own, or as part of a repeat pattern. I'm going to go through the design process for the first ever repeat pattern I produced, my dachshunds.

1. Firstly, you have to choose the element(s) which will form the corners and edges of your linocut. You will be cutting these into 4, so you will need to think about how these will look once they have been cut into sections. Do you want the sections to look fairly abstract or still recognisable? For me, this is the best bit of creating a repeat pattern – the challenge of cutting your subject matter up and making decisions as to how you want these parts to look. Here's the dachshund which will form my corners.

Step 1 - Decide on image which will form borders and corners

2.Cut it into four.

Step 2 - Cut into four

3. Label them.

Step 3 - Label the sections

4.Arrange these quarters as shown. It is important that they are laid out in this sequence so they match up when the final print is grouped with other prints, they match up.

Step 4 - Arrange the sections into corners/edges

5.Compose the remainder of your linocut around these corner and edge elements.

Step 5 - Design the rest of your linocut around these sections

6. Make sure the linocut looks balanced, both as a single piece and as a repeat pattern.To do this, you will need to be aware of the amount of background space in your print.

Here is the same process for the hen design I created for Gloagburn Farm.

Step 1 - Drawings of hens which will form edges

1. I started with drawings of the two hens I knew I wanted to cut up to form the edges of the design.

Step 2 - Hens cut into sections and placed along edges

2. I cut these into sections and moved these into the correct place. I wanted to make them look a bit more natural than the dachshunds, as though it was a cross section of a flock of chickens, so I placed them along the edges rather than quartering them and putting them in the corners.

Step 3 - Filling in the rest of the hen design

3. I created the rest of the design around these elements. I tried to show the hens in a variety of poses, and made sure that their sizes were consistent.

Single hen linocut print

4. The finished linocut as a single print. Again, you have to be aware of the solid areas and the unfilled background, both as a single print....

Hen linocut print as repeat pattern

5. ...and as a repeat. You need to make sure it works both as a single print and as a repeat pattern.

About Me

I'm Marliese Richmond and I run the Three Bears Prints Company (www.threebearsprints.com), producing characterful, hand-crafted prints. Each original design is inspired by wildlife, stories or poems. Traditional and modern print making techniques are used, and the final design is produced using a century old, hand operated press. Intensely coloured inks and carefully chosen papers are used to complement designs rich in pattern and texture. Three Bears Prints bring a smile to your face and convey my passion for the natural world and print making.